By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was crucial to the U.S. government’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was created under the CARES Act in March 2020 and administered by the Small Business Administration. The program was designed to help small businesses, self-employed workers, and nonprofits retain employees during the pandemic by providing low-interest loans.
The loan could be forgiven if businesses used at least 60% of the loan for payroll expenses and the rest for eligible costs like rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
Approximately 11.8 million businesses received PPP loans during the program's duration. It disbursed nearly $800 billion and was a significant lifeline for many companies. As of early 2023, around 90% of the PPP loans had been fully or partially forgiven.
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In the 2024 election cycle, COVID and the PPP program are not on the radars of too many politicians or voters. That is particularly true of state and local elections. In Florida, issues like hurricanes, homeowners insurance, education, and the environment are the core issues. But surprisingly, an ad critical of Marsha Summersill, the Democrat nominee and candidate in the State House District 39 election related to a PPP loan she received in 2020, appeared on the airwaves.
The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee recently aired an ad endorsed by Republican Doug Bankson, the incumbent District 39 representative running against Summersill.
"During COVID, working families struggled to get by while Marsha Summersill cashed in. Summersill took thousands of taxpayer dollars meant for working families to bail out a company with just one employee - herself. Marcia Summersill takes from working families, but Doug Bankson fights for them. Bankson cut taxes over a billion dollars, and he's taking on the insiders to lower rates. Doug Bankson - working families first."
The 66-word, 30-second ad ran multiple times during the Monday Night Football broadcast on September 30th. It also included still photos of Summersill and Bankson.
A search on the Pro Publica site referenced in the ad confirmed the amount and status of the loan.
The forgiven PPP loan was for $13,128 and paid to Marsha Summersill, LLC. Summersill, a privately contracted attorney at the Orlando Law Group, explained why she applied for the loan.
"I am accountable for income coming into the Altamonte Springs office. My expenses include contributing to the legal assistant and support staff and my salary. My remaining in business directly impacts those on my team and, of course, my livelihood. The loan helped me ensure those expenses and salaries were paid. Our firm remained open, and we ensured all our team members were supported. I am proud that I could contribute to that. I am not above accepting help when I need it and when it is appropriate. I appreciated it as it was critically needed at that time."
According to Summersill, several clients she represented had critical cases pending.
"My clients were impacted, and a few could only pay some of the fees, while others could not pay at all. I still worked on their cases. These cases involved child safety, family preservation, and intense litigation to ensure that my clients had legal support to make sure their children and families were safe and secure."
She also dealt with multiple health issues during that period, including COVID.
"I am a service-based business. I don’t receive government vouchers or assistance, and I am accountable for taxes and all expenses associated with a small business. My office and my team relied on me. In addition, my reserves were depleted due to extensive medical bills and hospital costs. I required surgery, and then two months later, I was hospitalized with COVID."
Summersill was, in particular, offended by the ad stating she took money from working families.
"I reduced my expenses, worked with my clients, ensured that we provided excellent legal representation, and worked extremely hard to get us through the difficult times COVID caused. I knew that I would need to explore the PPP program. My team and my clients counted on me to keep my practice open. I am unique in my background and skills. I am not able to refer their needs out. I need to ensure that I make all efforts to help them. I was adamant about following all the requirements and rules and was firm about only accepting the minimum amount."
It is surprising that a $13,200 loan from a program that dispersed almost $800 billion to 11.8 million businesses has been criticized, especially since Bankson also utilized the PPP program.
According to a search on the same Pro Publica site referenced by the ad, Victory Church World Outreach Center in Apopka received a $207,000 PPP loan in April 2020, which was also forgiven. Bankson is the lead pastor and founder of Victory Church World Outreach Center in Apopka.
"I am perplexed that a person claiming to abide by the rules of faith acts in this manner," Summersill said. "However, I am not surprised. It deletes all elements of trust in his ability to govern objectively."
The Apopka Voice texted Bankson for comment at 12:46 p.m. on September 1st and 11:31 a.m. on September 2nd but did not receive a response by the time the article was published.
